


A Superhero Learns To Fly

by Kritty



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Bromance, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Bucky Barnes, Kid Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, short mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 08:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3057623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kritty/pseuds/Kritty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He falls down a lot, but he always gets up again, dusting himself of and marching on. Bucky can't believe he got so lucky to meet the scrawny boy who's clearly meant for something big.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Superhero Learns To Fly

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Title from this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0IERZOcOBk. Steve Rogers and James Barnes are not mine, they belong to Marvel. I don't earn any money.
> 
> A/N: Please keep in mind that English is not my first language. I beta'ed it myself several times, but maybe I missed something. Telling me about mistakes would be nice, thanks :)

  
All his life he's been told   
He’ll be nothing when he’s old  
All the kicks and all the blows  
He won't ever let it show  
(„Superhero“, The Script)

****

**I.**

****

„Name's James, but you can call me Bucky.“, he says and holds out his hand, grinning and eyes glinting.  
„Nice to meet you. I'm Steven Rogers but...you can call me Steve.“, the scrawny kid says, and his voice sounds like he's trying to act all grown-up and important.  
„Nice to meet'ya too, Stevie. Wanna play?“, he answers and shows him his new ball, the one he got from his Momma a few days ago.  
„Yes. Should be careful, though.“  
Turns out, playing ball isn't that good for poor Stevie's lungs, and they need to stop after a few rounds of catch-an'-throw. He almost falls over and his breathing is really weird, so Bucky helps him get home and apologizes. Steve says it's not his fault and is really polite, tears in his eyes but defiantly waving him goodbye, shouting a wheezy „See ya, Bucky!“, while his Mom pulls him inside with anxious eyes.  
Bucky decides that Steve's a brave kid, because he played ball with him even though he knew it wasn't good for him. And Bucky decides to be his friend, because someone's got to make sure the world is gonna notice that brave kid too.

****

II.

****

Steve gets sick one day, which isn't anything special, since he gets sick every few months – but this time, he doesn't get out of bed for weeks and weeks, and Bucky is starting to get really worried, hovering near Steve's bed while his Mom is making soup.  
„You're gonna be alright, Stevie. You're gonna be alright.“, he babbles, laying his jittery hand on sweaty hair.  
„Of course I'm gonna be alright, Buck.“, his friend mumbles, exhausted beyond description, but speaking nonetheless.  
Bucky can't say anything, he just swallows and tries to calm his racing heart.  
It's a few ours later when the fever finally breaks and the Doctor says Steve's probably going to live. Bucky almost cries and bites his lip until he tastes blood. He shakes his head and sits next to Steve's bed, listening to his best friend's mother crying and making more soup.  
He falls asleep thinking that Steve's a real brave kid, so strong and better than all of them.  
He dreams of a time when the whole world will see how great a kid Steve is.

****

III.

****

Sometimes, Bucky wants to kill them all and go to jail, just for Steve getting a break. It's not fair, that he's being used as a punching bag just for trying to stand up for other people.  
Bullies do what they do – they bully people. And Steve does what Steve does – he's defending other people, righteous guy that he is.  
And Bucky's left to pick up the pieces, ending several nasty fights and tending to Steve's wound after a run-in with a far-too-big fist.  
“You need to stop doing that.”  
“What?”  
“Picking fights with bigger ones.”  
“ _They_ pick on smaller and weaker ones.”  
“..You're small, too. It's dangerous.”  
“That's different, and I don't ca-”  
“I care. Just...stop.”  
“I can't, Buck. I can't.”  
Bucky just keeps tending to Steve's wounds and bites his lip, grinds his teeth and almost wants to smile. Because Steve's the best kid he ever knew, and one day the people will find out about him and nobody will ever beat Steve Rogers up again.

****

IV.

****

Bucky is good with the dames, and he knows it. Steve would be good with them too, if he tried. And if the dames wouldn't be so stupid and overly obsessed with giggling and hair styles and uniforms. He wants to roll his eyes, but there's an acid taste in his mouth and he wants to go home.  
Steve's uncomfortable, so therefore Bucky's uncomfortable too.  
The school dance isn't over yet, and even though Steve looks a bit miserable, he's eying Lizzy's brown hair, his cheeks red and mouth pulled into a small petulant smile.  
Lizzy's not giving him any attention, though, because she's silly and not even a real dame yet, and Bucky can see when Steve's reluctantly accepting his fate of having no partner for the dance tonight, face frustrated and eyes a tiny tad sad.  
On the spur of the moment he says goodbye to Brenda, leaving her right there at the ugly school table and grabs Steve by the arm.  
They leave the school dance and go home, eat the delicious stew Steven's mom does so well and build a fort out of cushions.  
They wrestle a bit until Steve almost has an attack and then they giggle softly and say good night to each other.  
Bucky goes to sleep almost instantly, smiling to himself and thinking of the day when all those stupid dames will discover Steve as the best lad there is, because he's funny and smart and _oh, so good._

****

V.

****

Nobody will take Steve, and while he's really angry and frustrated, Bucky on his part is _so very relieved_ and thankful. Not for Steve's health problems and general condition, never, but for the people saving him from certain death in some muddy ditch at the front line of the biggest bully fight ever.  
He himself is already part of the army without really wanting to, but he can't do nothing – and he sees the opportunity to end a fight before Stevie even gets near it, so he's not gonna turn away, even if he could. Therefore he grits his teeth and puts on his uniform, gets promoted to Sergeant surprisingly fast and sees Steve a hell of a lot less than he anticipated. He should have known though, and he tries to get used to it. The war's really bad, but he's not so bad at what he's doing- he tries not to dwell on it and thinks of Stevie instead.  
Steve's Mom is dead a while now, and his own parents are dead aswell, so they're all they've got left now. He writes letters and cards, visits him when he's on home leave – and Steve never stops trying to get into the damn army.  
Bucky would be angry, perhaps a bit sad – but he's only worried and a little proud, because that's just as much as he expected from the scrawny kid. So he watches Steve with a somewhat doleful smile and prays for the world to see the huge and big soul his best friend's got. Not today, maybe, _please not today_ , but one day.

****

VI.

****

His whole world is on fire, and it's all wrong and horrible. Bucky's gonna die, he's certain – the Germans have given him something deadly now, surely. He sees monsters in the corners, but when he turns his head to yell at them they are gone. There's only greyness and numbness paired with never-ending pain.  
He keeps mumbling like they wished all those days ago, can't seem to stop, and there's so much noise and so much emptiness inside his head, and he just can't-  
Suddenly Steve's there, but he's too big, and Bucky almost laughs and hears a tired, kinda breathy voice asking the questions he wants to ask too – later he realises that he must have asked them himself after all.  
He follows the larger version of Steve out of Hell and wonders why Captain America, that silly wack from the motivational comics looks a lot like Steve and came to save him and the others- but then he faints, hearing a muttered “Thataboy”.

He wakes up and Steve's there again, big and healthy and grabbing Buck like his life depends on it – he almost closes his eyes again, but only almost.  
They smile at each other and then Bucky throws up all over Captain America's shoes, but he keeps smiling and hides his trembling hands, just happy to have Steve by his side.  
Bucky gets better faster than he should, but they don't think about it, just talk a lot about nothing and everything. They march all the way back and Bucky is exhausted but _so damn proud_ of his scrawny best friend, even though he feels a lot like he lost someone.

At one point he yells “Let's hear it for Captain America!” - and his heart is full of confusing thunder because the scrawny kid is somehow gone, the world has suddenly noticed the hero that has been living in a weak body all this time, the hero that has finally gotten the wings he always deserved.

Bucky grinds his teeth and follows him, wings or not, is willing to share Steve Rogers with a world who doesn't deserve him but took him nonetheless. 

 

____  
End.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. *gives you a cookie and hot chocolate* :)


End file.
